I ended up driving to fayetteville Friday and back down to camp at Devils Den. Spent the morning on some trails around there and didnt run into any traffic.I then headed east and routed my way along as many dirt roads as I could find to Oark. Ill have to go back and look at my gps, but I found some great roads/trails that had some water but nothing impassable. NF 78 was one that ended up being reasonably technical but not due to water crossing. I ended up traveling south to Mt Magazine where several of the crossings were chest deep and impassable due to current, let alone depth.The rain last weekend made the temps perfect and the scenery beautiful. My only regret was not staying longer.I also wish the trip would have made because some of the water crossings would have been memorable.

Just an FYI on a trac for the v8 4Runner: It is always on, there just isn't a button for it like the fj cruiser or the v6 4wd models. The awd system uses atrac whenever the truck is in 4low and the center doff locked. It's the same way on the Lexus gx470 as well.

Good to know! Does that still apply to my rig, with it being an '03?

Yes. My Gx is an 03 as well. When using the center diff lock, the computer turns off the vsc(vehicle stability control) and allows more throttle input while sending equal amounts of power to the front and rear diffs. The atrac system then regulates wheel spin by using the braking system to slow down the tires that are spinning faster and transferring power to the other wheel. It can make a lot of noise when using lower rpms over technical ascents/descents, but really is an effective system.

Just an FYI on a trac for the v8 4Runner: It is always on, there just isn't a button for it like the fj cruiser or the v6 4wd models. The awd system uses atrac whenever the truck is in 4low and the center doff locked. It's the same way on the Lexus gx470 as well.

Well, the air suspension finally bit the dust. Couldn't find the leak but I'm fairly certain that it was a bad connection and not the air springs themselves. Either way, it was an opportunity to upgrade a system that has a finite life span and could potentially leave me stranded somewhere.

I picked up a set of long travel metal tech springs from the fj cruiser forums that had minimal miles. Then ordered a set of the corresponding long travel icon shocks and extended brake lines. I still have the stock lower control arms and the sway bar connected, but the travel and ride quality is 100x what it was before. Articulation even with stock arms and sway bar connected is pretty substantial over stock. Here is a picture of the air springs and shocks removed:

I ended up removing the compressor, diaphragm, and all other lines associated with the system. The only thing left is to figure out how to get the light on my dash to stop blinking. It's recommended to unplug the air suspension computer harness, but when I do, my check engine light/vsc lights come on. Still trying to find the answer.

Fun fact ab installing the long travel kit on the GX:Metal Tech recommends installing a 3" bump stop extension to compensate for the longer shock body to limit up travel and damage of the shock. The GX bump stops are already atleast 2 1/2 to 3" longer than the fj or 4Runner. When test fitting the shocks and cycling them to look for clearance issues, the stock GX bump actually begins to make contact with the axel with 1 1/2 -2 inches of the shock shaft showing. In my not so expert opinion, this negates the reasoning behind installing bump stop extensions.

I also did not install the upper spring isolator a that come on the stock suspension. They are the cone like piece of rubber that acts like a damper if the spring is compressed to the point of impact. I had some industrial rubber sheeting laying around that I used on some roof rack mounts and cut them into a shape roughly larger than the top spring diameter. Then slipped them above the spring so there was no metal/metal contact between the spring and frame.

I don't have any pictures of it installed, but will post pictures this evening. My he only thing left to complete the rear would be a set of upper and lower control arms.

Looking to sell my treadwright wardens. 285/70R17 EThese measure in right at 33"Tires have ab 15K on them and have been rotated every 5K since installed in March 2013.Tread life is somewhere areound 70-75% remaining.I will post pictures later of tires.